Day 24 Ran out of "gas" 7-8-18

I started the day riding really well, and fast (for me - 17mph average). I couldn't find a spot for breakfast in the 15-20 mile range, so I ended up riding 31 miles before stopping. I realize all of the Ironman triathletes out there are laughing at this, but it took a bit of "gas" out of my legs, and I didn't recover very well. The rest of the morning was spent trying to get back into the "happy spot" on the bike. I couldn't seem to find a comfortable position, and the next 20 or so miles were a challenge mentally. The sun was also very strong (not super hot, probably only in the low 90's, but at 6,000 feet altitude, it was very strong).

Once again, the back roads sometimes weren't an option, and I had to spend a few more terrifying miles riding on I-40. The sound of a semi truck approaching from behind me, sometimes less than 5 feet away is something that I won't soon forget, and will probably have nightmares about. Tomorrow looks like it will be more of the same, as Route 66 is I-40 for the majority of the way into Flagstaff (our next stop). I met my family in Gallup, and spent some time with them in the early afternoon. I decided to stop riding, and put the bike on Mack the Silverback. We then drove into Holbrook, and as I sat in the camper, I started to feel worse and worse (physically from all of the sun, and mentally because I had stopped earlier than planned). I chugged several bottles of water, sat in the air conditioning, and slowly started to feel better. The girls hopped in the pool, and as Kelly and I relaxed in chairs by the pool, I gave up on my earlier plan of riding 30 more miles once it got cooler.

Tonight I had another opportunity to talk to Anthony Arno, who has a Route 66 podcast. We spoke a couple of weeks ago, when Mack the Silverback was having hitch issues, and tonight was just an update on how things were going. It's been so fun to spread the word through the media, in all the various forms. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but maybe something related to the media?